Ron Johnson and Steve Jobs have worked together for over a decade, and during that time, there was a period when they would talk on the phone every night for almost a whole year straight.

This former Apple retail executive oversaw the construction of 350 stores and facilitated the development of nearly another 50, which now account for about three-quarters of Apple's total store network. Johnson indicates that he remained with Apple until Jobs passed away in 2011. One important lesson left to him by this Apple co-founder is still something he practices to this day.

Johnson said during the live Q&A session held around his new book Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius, which was organized by Business Insider, "The most important thing is: don't rush."

Johnson later went on to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of JCPenney. He said that Jobs is always fully focused. When Jobs is working, she puts all her attention on the task at hand and does not carry a mobile phone with her, Johnson said. A former retail supervisor mentioned that Jobs's assistant would keep Johnson on standby at all times in case she needed to contact Jobs.

“Next time we meet, he will remember everything we discussed last week,” he said.

Johnson says that this focus is not only reflected in their daily communication but also in the way Jobs builds Apple. During his leadership of Apple, Jobs helped turn the company into a billion-dollar enterprise.

Johnson says that the product release rhythm under the leadership of Jobs at Apple is an example of this focus. Although Apple is a consumer electronics company, it didn't launch iPhone until 2007, while iPod was released in 2001.

“He’s not in a hurry,” Johnson said, “He wants to make iPod good enough first – only then will we be qualified to move on to making mobile phones.”

During his tenure at Apple, Johnson also applied the same approach to Apple's retail business. When he first joined the company, his task was to establish the company's retail network.

At that time, many people believed that with the rise of online shopping, physical retail was on the decline. Nevertheless, he persisted with this plan until Apple Store was a success. Johnson later added that any store that achieved an annual revenue of 15 million dollars would become profitable, and this goal was met after iPod Nano went public.

Johnson wrote in the book that Jobs accepted the reality that Apple's retail vision might not immediately win everyone's approval. "Bold visions cannot be forced or hurried; they need time to reveal themselves," he wrote.